


The Egg Nog Exception

by deathwailart



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Bonding, Christmas, F/F, Fluff, James Vega's cooking is what keeps the crew together, after the Reapers are gone Adams will still go to war on mistletoe, drunk Chakwas is the best kind of Chakwas, why am I allowed to write tags at all?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-07
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-20 12:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/585618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathwailart/pseuds/deathwailart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard, Liara and egg nog.  Written for a prompt.  Messing around with the ME timeline but I just really wanted silliness and cute.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Egg Nog Exception

It is both a blessing and a curse to have her room so close to the communal kitchen area of the Normandy. A cabin she stepped into once with some trepidation in the original that held such a beautiful memory and then one she reclaimed, pocketing one or two drones still concealed after the conversion from Cerberus back to the Alliance. Perhaps Miranda left them behind for a reason - so little is by chance with their lives when it all comes down to it. It's a good workspace, more cramped than the Shadow Broker's ship but she can make do and she's close to almost everyone, especially when they decide to congregate for shared meals or a chat. The unspoken rule of the open air mess is that there's no talk of Reapers or the war. And that you never disturb James Vega, even if he happens to be cooking only in an apron and scandalously tight boxer briefs that border on pristine.  
  
Morale boosting comes in many forms after all.  
  
There's no chance of ever forgetting a meal though when scents waft through the door to tempt her out even though Shepard likes to either invite Liara up to her cabin or appear with some plates or bowls, both of them eating cross-legged on the floor. It's a chance to try new things, to indulge in the sort of light conversation they all need so badly.  
  
Tonight the smell creeping under her door isn't appetising or intriguing. It's not strong enough for her to tell what it is but it's alcohol, rum maybe or brandy; Liara likes wine and cocktails, light and fruity things and she certainly does _not_ like cervezas. It allowed her a good moment solidarity with Ashley when she staggered out with the mother of all hangovers after drinking and games with James. The words on the screen before her are starting to blur before her, Glyph is reminding her that she hasn't stopped for a break in some time and well Shepard's laugh seals the deal. The smell is stronger outside of her office and as she blinks, rubbing her dry, tired eyes hard she realises that Engineer Adams and Chakwas are sitting at the table with Steve, Traynor, Ash, Ken and Gabby as Shepard and James hunch over the counter. The sight should not be so worrying but Liara has experienced Shepard's cooking which is about on par with her driving - there's a lot of smoke and burns involved with the outcome being an upset stomach for anyone who isn't Shepard. She's always enthusiastic but with some things, it only counts so far. James can cook extremely well but it's not cooking they're involved with or at least she hopes not, not when there's that amount of _giggling_ going on.  
  
"Liara!" Chakwas waves her over, wobbling slightly until Adams steadies her. "Come on, have a seat! You're just in time for something really special."  
  
"Not sure I'd go that far," Adams adds as Liara takes the seat next to Traynor.  
  
"What's going on?" She asks the comm specialist who looks like she's trying not to laugh, fumbling her words for a moment. "Am I interrupting?"  
  
"Oh no, not at all! In fact I was worried we might be making too much noise and disturbing you, I know you've got a lot of work to do. But in answer to your question, it's December on Earth and we decided to do something to feel a bit more...connected."  
  
Liara nods in understanding. She knows how it feels to want to cling to whatever home you have the way the quarians have done for three hundred years. Turians talk of old victories and of their standards, the asari try to impart wisdom from the greatest matriarchs of long ago, the hanar preach of the enkindlers. It's natural. Especially when so many on Earth see December and the holidays as a time all about being together, it makes sense that they want to do something that reminds them of home or brings them together.  
  
Liara just doesn't know what any of that has to do with James and Shepard with their heads together, lots of glugging noises and a thick aroma of rum in the air as Chakwas starts them off singing. Or Liara assumes it's singing - it's clearly off the beat, just a little slurred and the words are changed to things that surely have nothing to do with Christmas.  
  
"Hey you." Liara jumps when Shepard appears behind her, arms around her neck as she leans down to press a kiss to her temple, "so you know what we said about trying new things?"  
  
"Are you going to introduce me to holiday traditions?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking, c'mon Vega, think we've kept everyone waiting long enough." The cheer that goes up honestly lifts Liara's spirits as James appears in his infamous apron that is, apparently, absolutely one hundred percent anatomically correct, address your questions to Esteban please, with a tray of glasses. A tray of glasses that smell so bad Liara has to stifle her gag behind a cough.  
  
"I'll name these beauties later or you can leave your suggestions with me once you've had time to form an opinion," James explains as he hands out the glasses, Liara dutifully taking hers and examining it. Around the table there are cheers, Ken particularly enthusiastic but then again he's the reason Adams has declared war on mistletoe thanks to catching Ken and Gabby canoodling far too often. Somehow Liara doubts that they'd be so over the top anywhere other than the Normandy but that's all part of the charm of being part of this ship - being comfortable enough to be who you are, who you want to be, Shepard encouraging everyone to find their path. She smiles down at her glass, enjoying a moment where she can be caught up in thoughts that aren't agents and intel, death counts, systems being taken or Reapers.  
  
"Don't you want to try your egg nog?" Shepard murmurs, giving Liara a nudge as everyone else toasts James and their Commander for the drinks.  
  
"Egg nog?"  
  
"Yeah, egg nog. C'mon it's great, I'm sure you'll love it."  
  
"Do I get to know what's in it?"  
  
"Well we had to improvise a few things being out here, the situation being what it is," the frown line Shepard has been working on ever since Liara met her appears momentarily until she shakes her head and brightens, "but we made do. You can thank James, he knows his way around the kitchen."  
  
"I didn't think it was possible to make so many things when we really don't have much."  
  
"Spices doc!" Of course James catches mention of his cooking. "All about the spices."  
  
"Anyway, it's egg nog. There's rum in there - don't make that face Liara, rum's good in some things - milk-"  
  
"Milk? With rum?"  
  
"Yeah, there are stranger things Liara, I've had ryncol and lived to tell the tale."  
  
"Not the most ringing endorsement you've ever done."  
  
"Hey! Where was I? Right, rum, milk, sugar, whipped eggs-"  
  
" _Eggs_?" Liara asks with a pained gasp, recalling that famous line from the Star Wars movies Shepard sat her down to watch along with Garrus. (A bad idea, Garrus is too attached to the idea of being Han Solo now.)  
  
"You've had all of those things."  
  
"Not together!"  
  
The smell is starting to make her nauseous as she tries to plan an escape.  
  
"There's cinnamon on top," Shepard says after knocking back the last of her own glass, as if that will somehow make everything better.  
  
"I...I...I should go."  
  
And with as much dignity as she can muster, Liara beats a retreat to her cabin.

* * *

  
  
Much later the door to her cabin hisses open, Glyph's greeting rousing Liara from her exchange of messages with Garrus and Tali about the egg nog - Garrus is morbidly fascinated, Tali says they've got something similar on the fleet.  
  
"Hey you," Shepard greets, a wobble to her smile and her gait.  
  
"Are you feeling well?"  
  
"'m good, 'm good," she staggers forward and belly flops on Liara's bed with a muted groan, one hand outstretched before she mumbles something.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."  
  
Shepard lifts her head and tries to roll over, waving something at Liara. "I brought mistletoe."  
  
Liara smiles and closes the gap between them. Until she smells the egg nog.  
  
"No Shepard."  
  
"Awww Liara maybe you'll like it better."  
  
"Shepard it smelled vile."  
  
"You'll get bad luck if you don't kiss commanders brandishing mistletoe."  
  
Sighing, Liara takes a seat and pulls Shepard into her lap, stroking through her hair as she inhales sharply and kisses Shepard's forehead, making sure not to breathe in second-hand egg nog.  
  
"Get some sleep, I'll hang the mistletoe in the doorway for the morning."  
  
"Love you Liara," Shepard mumbles sleepily, "love you so much."  
  
"I love you too," Liara replies honestly, one of the first real smiles she's managed in days on her face as she strokes Shepard's hair and face until she goes lax with sleep. "Except when you smell like egg nog."

**Author's Note:**

> I have never had egg nog nor am I likely to. All descriptions of egg nog came from the prompter.


End file.
